Probe all private teachers’ colleges

 I WAS intrigued by a statement from Education Secretary Dr Uke Kombra (The Newspaper, Feb 25) regarding flourishing of unrecognised teachers colleges and would like to express my views on this issue.

I am deeply concerned of the high numbers of unsanctioned teachers colleges cropping up all over Papua New Guinea with no proper learning facilities. 

From my understanding, teachers colleges are higher learning (tertiary) institutions which are well equipped and their operations are always in compliance with the polices and guidelines set  by the Department of Education.

Furthermore, the teaching profession deals with building the human resource capacity of our country and needs to be protected and scuritinised by the department. 

Students who graduate from teachers colleges will be classrooms moulding and shaping young minds who will be the future of our country.

Teachers are unlike graduates from business colleges who will find a place in the corporate world interacting mostly with nonliving things – desks top loaded with software packages and piles of receipts for posting debit and credit entries etc.

It is now the responsibility for the Education authorities to clamp down on these privately-owned teachers colleges which are not accredited and affiliated to our formal education system. 

They must persecute the owners and directors of these private teachers colleges who are charging hefty fees under the pretext of providing quality teacher training with the absence of proper learning facilities. 

These  people are making profits at the expense of unsuspecting parents and guardians who are so desperate to have their children enrolled in these colleges in the hope of securing formal employment in primary adn high schools.

Education authorities should not sit back and allow some unethical people to take advantage of the high demand for teacher training. 

Such activities are considered to be scams and are criminal in nature.  This is a difficult issue that requires a thoughtful and rational response that will achieve a solution and not emotions in public and media as claimed by Dr Kombra.

The public must know that there are only 15 recognised teachers colleges in the country, which means that students who enroll with unrecognised teachers colleges will not be registered as teachers to teach in our public schools. 

Parents who are contemplating sending their children to obtain teaching qualifications from such colleges should refrain from doing so as your limited finances, time and effort will be a total waste.

Robert Raim

Kindeng, Jiwaka